During February, Black History month, local groups made a visit to see this flag, made by Priscilla Giles and displayed at her home on Ashland Avenue. The colors of red, black and green were chosen in 1920 for the African American or Pan African flag, created by the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), whose founder was Marcus Garvey.
The UNIA constitution defines the colors: red represents the “noble blood that unites all people of African ancestry,” black, the people, and green, the “rich land of Africa.” The Pan African flag had three horizontal stripes, red on top, then black and then green.
In 1990, artist David Hammons designed the “African-American Flag,” using Pan African colors in the traditional American flag. His flag, which had black stars on a green field and red and black stripes, is part of the New York Museum of Modern Art, and a copy is flown at the entrance of the Studio Museum of Harlem.